The League of the Cerise Amaryllis
by Kay2010SU
Summary: The next installment of the Pink Carnation books. What ever happened to Mary? Will Richard ever forgive Miles? and Who is the Cerise Amaryllis? All these answers and a love story!
1. Chapter 1

I had a date with Colin Selwick. I had no where else to turn when it came to research but I had a date with Colin Selwick. I could not believe it and had to ask Pammy three times if the conversation had really happened. I was not even looking forward to the party yet I have to say it was one of Pammy's best.

Colin is the kind of guy that every girl dreams about having but never does. I have only known Colin a little over two weeks and in that time I have gone from total hatred for the man to total want. I could not wait till Saturday night and I pray to god nothing happens to ruin it. I can just see something happening now, Colin calling and saying "Sorry, I can't make it my cat was just hit by an old lady in a wheelchair" or something along those lines. That would be my luck.

I had to get Colin out of my head so I will only think of where to look for the Pink Carnation next. There was nowhere to look as I had already used my last lead to discover Letty and Geoff in Ireland. I was out of names to look for. Unless….Mary came to my head. Where had Mary ended up after Geoff married her sister? Maybe if I researched her I may be able to find where the Pink Carnation had gone after Ireland.

I called Mrs. Selwick-Adlerly to talk to her about what I had discovered so far. She told me to come over for tea if I had the time and of course being the graduate student that I am, I had the time. I put on a cream cashmere sweater and a plaid a-line skirt with a nice pair of Mary Janes, and headed out the door. The weather had been nice today, no rain at least so I was excited that I could make the trip and still look presentable.

The trip on the tube was as fun as ever and I managed to find a seat by no one with coffee, which meant no chance of them spilling it on me. As I was sitting and loving the ride on London's transportation, I started to think back on all the couples. They never did seem to end up at the same place anymore. Were they trying to keep a low profile by avoiding each other? I knew that Richard and Miles had had a falling out when Miles married Henrietta but surely that could not mean that Richard, Miles and Geoff stopped seeing each other completely. I mean just because the world found out that the Purple Gentian was Lord Richard Selwick did not mean that he could not still see his oldest friends. I mean even Sir Percy Blakeney still saw Lord Andrew!

I made to Mrs. Selwick-Aderly's house unscathed and we sat to a nice cup a tea. I told her about what I read at Selwick Hall and how that led me to Geoff and Letty. I told her how I found all of the information in the British Library and she was as amazed as I was that it was out in the public like that.

"To think the answer to who the Pink Carnation is was sitting in the library the whole time" murmured Mrs. Selwick-Aderly.

"Well I don't think that anyone would find it if they had not learned about Richard and Miles first. The only reason I found it is because I decided to look for Mary Alsworthy."

"Mary Alsworthy? What did you find about her?"

"Nothing really, only that she and Geoff had planned to elope but he ended up with her sister instead."

"That is all?"

"Yes, she seemed to disappear right before the wedding"

"Yes, that would be around the right time for her to disappear."

"What do you know about Mary?"

"I think Colin can answer that question better than I can."

"Colin?"

"Yes, he has quite a bit of information on Mary Alsworthy. He started to track her when Geoff and Letty came up with the idea that the Black Tulip may not be one single person."

"She is connected with the Black Tulip?"

"I will have Colin show you what he has maybe then it will make better sense than if I try to explain it."

As if on cue, Colin walked into the room, kissed his aunt on the cheek and then turned his eyes to me. He stared at me while he said, "How are things going, Aunt Arabella?"

"Just fine, Colin. I was just telling Eloise that you tracked Mary Alsworthy down after Geoff and Letty's wedding."

"So I did. Let me guess you would like to see those documents to" he said to me.

"I would like to if you would like to show me." I replied nonchalantly.

"Well I could take you back with me to Selwick Hall and let you have your way with the documents but I have a date on Saturday that is very important." He smiled right at me.

"And what if your date cancels?" I said playing into his little game.

"Then I am free to take you this very second to Selwick Hall right this minute."

"What was that agent's name who popped up after Ireland?" asked Mrs. Selwick-Adlerly.

"I think you are referring to the Cerise Amaryllis", replied Colin without taking his eyes off mine.

"Who is the Cerise Amaryllis? I asked eagerly.

"Why the Cerise Amaryllis is the next chapter of the story"


	2. Chapter 2

Mary wondered around the room. She was looking at the splendor of the room where she could have been mistress of. She would have been too if it were not for her selfish sister. Mary had never known that Letty was in love with Geoff. If she did she doubted she would have cared. She just wanted to marry into money and title, true love did not exist. So here she was standing in the middle of a grand ballroom at a party to honor her sister and Geoff. They were celebrating the fact that she was pregnant and everyone from the ton was there. It made Mary sick.

One day she would be in the top elite; a woman of importance. All she really wanted was the power that some women were handed just because they had the luck to be born into that family. She looked around the room. There was everyone, even the Selwick's had come to honor Geoff and Letty. They must have left their son with the governess because Amy seemed a bit uneasy. The Dorrington's were in an alcove kissing and flirting with each other and Letty was headed straight for Mary.

"Mary, I am glad you decided to come." Letty said while taking Mary's hands in hers. Letty was simply glowing and no one could tell if it was from the pregnancy or the fact that she was in love. She looked positively radiant.

"It was good of you to invite me after you went and stole my fiancée," smiled Mary.

"Mary, you know that I did not mean to steal Geoff. I did it to save your reputation but I have to say that I would not go back and change things. I love him and we both know if you married him you would love him as much as I do."

"I know and I have to say that deep down I am happy for you but Geoff was my only chance out of this lifestyle that we were born into. What if I never find someone that can worship me like Geoff did?"

"You will. You always do but you have to understand that you are the reason we are married. If you had not tried to elope with him we would not be married. He is not like you and in the end you would just make each other unhappy. You were the one blessed with all the charms and grace though so I know you will move on with someone else."

"I hope you are right. I am happy for the two of you but now I feel that now you are part of a group that I can never be with. You and Geoff have this new family with the Selwick's and Dorrington's that I can never be a part of. I know that they do not like me, you do not have to say that they do."

"I do not know what to say. At one point I agreed with them. You have to stop trying to marry for money and title. Try to fall in love first it is the best feeling in the world."

"So you say. I will never fall in love though. I do not think I am capable of it. There is no one like me in the world that I can manage to be with."

"I think that you will fall in love and when you do, I feel sorry for the man that has to put up with you. Well I have other people to entertain so I will talk to you later." With that being said, Letty hugged Mary and then went to join her husband in a debate about whether they should get a new carriage. Both humbly agreeing that they one they have serves its purpose just fine.

Mary danced with many gentlemen but none of them were really worth her time. She chatted with admirers and even smiled when they tried to ask her to join them for a ride in the park, all of which she declined. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw Lord Vaughn enter the room, she remembered how he had once told her that he was interested in Lady Selwick but then that was ruined the day she married Miles Dorrington. Vaughn caught her I and smiled at her before going to speak with Letty and Geoff. Mary went and stood in a corner, playing with the necklace that hung at her neck. She did this when she was in thought, and her thoughts ran towards the journey she would be making in a short time.

Mary was leaving for Austria to help with a plan that the Pink Carnation had set up to restore the monarchy. She was anxious to be leaving but at the same time she did not know whether she could pull this off by herself. True, Lord Vaughn was supposed to accompany her; they were supposed to look like newlyweds touring Austria for a honeymoon. Lord Vaughn was still a very shady character to her and she did not know if she could fully trust her. Jane seemed to think that the two of them would pull off the job fantastically but she was still nervous.

"You seem nervous," commented a voice in her ear. She turned to see Vaughn standing next to her.

"No one has ever trusted me quite like Jane does."

"That is because she knows that you are one of the best. The Cerise Amaryllis has never been caught on a mission."

"You still think that I am that blasted flower. I have told you that I am new at all this and if I was that flower I would be less nervous to go to Austria."

"Okay, we will play it your way for now. Would you please give me the honor of your hand in the next dance?"

"I would be delighted." Mary and Vaughn went to join in with the other dancers not aware of the fact that the true Cerise Amaryllis was in the room. In fact not only was the flower in attendance, there was a secret meeting going on in Geoff's office. If they had known they would have tried to get in on that meeting, as it was all they could do was dance.

In the office there was a lot of shouting and carrying on about how the monarchy may not be able to be restored to France. Someone even said that bringing Mary into the picture may not have been the right idea. In the end they decided to give Jane the benefit of the doubt but the first time Mary screws up they were going to stop her part in the mission. Everyone was nervous about this new mission but they were also very excited because this is the first time everyone was working together. As for the Cerise Amaryllis, that flower was just happy to have finally bloomed….


	3. Chapter 3

In the office of Geoffery Pinchingdale-Snipe sat four women. Their husbands were all key members in the fight for France. The eldest was sitting behind the desk, her red hair giving to some white but that only increased her beauty. Next to her sitting on the side of the desk was a cute little brunette, who was still glowing in from her happy marriage. In front of the desk, in the two chairs sat a petit raven haired beauty and a golden haired woman with red tints; all were in deep conversation.

"If Percy had found out about this he would have my head," said the red head.

"I know what you mean, Marguerite. Miles would freak if he found out that I was still helping with all of this. He seems to think just because we were married I would not want to still help Jane in France," replied Henrietta

"Richard knows that he can not stop me from all of this. It has been in my blood forever," said Amy.

"Geoff suspects that we are up to something but then I was never good at concealing things. That is what he loves about me," said Letty, while blushing.

"Well the men just have to either accept the fact that we are going to help Jane out. When all of this started I knew that I had to help some way. Percy was always leaving to face danger and I could not stand it. I really had to do something. I still remember the day that Percy came home blasting that "demmed Cerise Amaryllis". I had a good laugh to myself"

"How did you come up with the flower?" asked Letty.

"Well I have to say it just happened. I am not sure how it came about. Though the Cerise Amaryllis is not one person but in fact it is all of you."

"What do you mean?" asked Henrietta.

"Well I created the Cerise Amaryllis to keep an eye out for Percy. The men from his league were always willing to help me so I had no problem pulling off missions before my husband got there and because I knew where he was going I made sure that I did the most dangerous missions. France knew who the Scarlet Pimpernel was and I did not want him sent to the guillotine. I did it to save him, even though I knew how mad he was when he didn't get to do certain things. His safety came first for me."

"Richard came after Percy though. He took over when Percy retired the Scarlet Pimpernel. Why did you let Richard become the next flower?" questioned Amy.

"Well I did not know what Richard was up to until all of England was talking about the new mysterious flower that had emerged. I thought that if Richard wanted to do this it was fine and I want to talk to him to make sure he was okay with the responsibilities that he was taking on. Do not be mad at me but I thought with Richard taking over, I could settle down and start having children with Percy."

"I am not mad about that. I understand. That is why we are all here. The Cerise Amaryllis has to once again protect the men we all love. I need to do this" said Amy.

"I know. Letty, are you mad that Mary is going to be helping us with this next mission?" asked Marguerite.

"I am fine with it. It was always her decision. I know how dangerous this can be but at the same time Mary really wants to do this. She says that she does not feel like she is one of us."

"Of course she is not one of us. She tried to marry Geoff for money and title. I don't think she is very nice," replied Henrietta.

"That is enough. She is on our side and that is all that matters. Vaughn said that she has faith that Mary can pull this off and so does Jane. If Jane thinks highly of her I trust her." Said Marguerite. With that being said the door opened and in strutted Sir Percy Blakeney. His eyes lit up when he saw his wife and he bounded over to her.

"La, my dear. What are you doing in here? I thought that the party was in the ballroom," said Percy.

"Percy, darling, we were just catching up on some girl talk. You know how loud it can get in the ballroom. We just wanted to have some time where we could actually hear each other."

"Of course. I know how that can be but, my dear, that is what the picnic is for. I am sure you ladies will be joining us?"

"We wouldn't dream of anything other than spending time with you Sir Percy. That is all Richard talks about," said Amy.

Everyone went back out into the ballroom to join their husband. They all danced the night away and the women were smiling at each other each time there was a reference to "The Cerise Amaryllis". What would the men think when they found out that the man they were cursing were really their wives. Mary and Vaughn were oblivious to everything that was going around them because of nerves for the upcoming journey.

At the end of the night Mary went into her room and started to get undress when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she shouted. Letty walked into the room wearing her dressing robe.

"I am sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to see if you wanted some help packing?"

"No, I have most of it done. I was just going to brush my hair and go to bed."

"Mary, are you okay with everything?"

"Of course I am. Jane has me ready for anything and Lord Vaughn will be with me most of the time."

"I know but what you said earlier really got to me. I did not know how you felt about my relationship with Amy and Henrietta. I talked to Vaughn earlier and he said he could postpone the trip a few days if you would like to go the picnic that Sir Percy is holding. It will only be the four families and Vaughn and you. If you would like to come."

"Really? I would love to spend sometime with everyone but are you sure that they would want me there?"

"They would love to see you there. I think it would be good for you if you did come. Then you can hear about how we went to through the last few years. I would really like it if you came."

The sisters hugged and were very excited that they were finally doing something together. Letty left the room and Mary got ready for bed. She was happy that Letty still wanted her to be a part of her life and she was glad to be spending time with everyone. Vaughn would be there to. She didn't know why he popped into her head but he did. She thought that he was a very attractive man. "I told myself I was done with the relationship game," she said to herself. When she finally did drift into sleep she dreamt of flowers and one very handsome Lord Vaughn.


	4. Chapter 4

Mary paced the room. She was nervous about going to the picnic with Letty and Geoff, even though Letty had told her a million times this morning that everyone was happy that she was attending. She still felt like it was not her place, like she was this evil cloud causing rain on their sunny lives. She wanted so much for Letty's new family to understand that she was not some fortune hunter. Yes, she wanted many things in life, preferably the finer things, but she was not a wicked person.

Mary's thoughts were interrupted with a knock on the door. She went and opened it and there stood Geoff. He looked so handsome wearing his navy blue jacket and crème colored cravat. Though what really added to his appearance was the huge smile that had not left his face since he found out that Letty was with child. He has been very excited and has been buying her a gift for both her and the baby everyday. "Nothing is to good for my love and my baby," he said every time Letty reprimanded him for spending money on her. They were adorable and Mary's heart broke a little more every time she saw them together. Maybe she didn't want a title, she might be happy settling for love, but she wouldn't mind having both.

"Letty wanted me to see of you were ready to leave," Geoff said with that goofy grin on his face.

"Y-Yes. I think that I am."

"Are you okay?"

"No, I feel like I am going to face the firing squad. Oh, maybe I should not go."

"Letty said you felt like this. Do not worry about it. Right now no one cares that you and I were going to be married once upon a time. This picnic was actually Hen's and Amy's idea to get Richard and Miles to talk."

"They seemed to be okay last night and Richard even named his first born son after him."

"Yes, Miles Geoffery, I love that little boy. Even though Richard did that, he still has not forgiven him. You would think he would have seeing that Hen is so happy with him."

Without realizing what Geoff was doing, Mary found herself in the carriage on the way to the picnic. She did not remember walking about as she thought back to it. She was so happy to be talking to someone who treated her like a human that she did not comprehend that Geoff had taken her mind off the picnic and they walked down to the carriage during the conversation.

"Feeling better, sister?" asked Letty. I simply nodded while studying her. She looked so beautiful in a light blue dress that looked stunning on her frame. She playfully teased Geoff about how the baby might be born in a carriage with the luck they have in them. Mary heard Geoff whisper, "I would not be surprised if the baby was conceived in it." The comment made Letty blush to the tips of her toes.

"Mary, have you ever met Marguerite Blakeney?" asked Geoff.

"No, I don't think I have. Of course I have heard about her of course. She used to be one of France's greatest actresses."

"Yes. She is stunning, and she if a fantastic mother. I just hope that I am half the mother she is," sighed Letty.

"You will be ten times better. The best mother in the world and the most beautiful," said Geoff.

"You guys are so adorable together. I am glad that you have found each other." Mary looked at the couple with envy.

"It is all thanks to you," said Letty.

They arrived at the Blakeney estate just behind the Dorrington carriage. Hen and Miles were having a debate about when they were going to share some news but got very quiet when they saw Mary, Letty, and Geoff approaching them.

"Hello, good friend!" Miles embraced Geoff. While Hen turned to Letty and Mary.

"Letty, darling, how have you been feeling lately?" asked Henrietta.

"I can not complain. I have a beautiful husband that loves me and a baby on the way. Though my feet are very swollen and I have to get new clothes because I have grown out of these. I love being pregnant but I go through so much clothing!"

"I can not wait to go through all that," squealed Hen. Letty laughed at her friend's eagerness to have a baby and Mary took a step in retreat. She started to think that she made the wrong decision with attending this party.

Hen saw Mary's retreat and turned in her direction. "How are you doing, Mary?"

"I am very good. Thank you for asking."

"I want you to know that I am very happy that you could show up to this picnic. You are one of us now."

"Thank you, it really means a lot to me," with that being said Mary relaxed.

Percy appeared on the steps. Mary looked up to study that man who was known as The Scarlet Pimpernel. He was very handsome and well dressed. He lifted his quizzing glass and exclaimed. "La, the last time I checked the picnic was in the garden, not the drive."

"You are very right, my friend. Let us all go into the garden. Is everyone else here already?" said Geoff.

"Richard and Amy arrived an hour ago so Marguerite and Amy could fuss over the children. Sink me, if I never heard of two people who loved their children more. Lord Vaughn is not yet here but I suspect that he should be here soon," replied Percy.

Everyone made their way into the yard to be greeted by Richard, Amy and Marguerite. Mary thought she was even more beautiful then people said. Everyone went sat on the lawn. Mary watched as each couple whisper sweet nothings in their ears and felt that envy again. Just when the thought entered her head there was a hand on her back.

"How are you feeling?" asked Vaughn.

"Good, except for the fact that you just scared me. I did not even see you show up," replied Mary.

"Sorry, your back was to me. Are you having a good time?"

"I am actually. Everyone has been really nice except they are all happily married and I am all by myself."

"Sweetheart you are happily married."

"Very funny. We are not married. We are just pretending."

"Well we get all the perks of marriage." Vaughn just smiled wickedly and looked Mary up and down.

"I do not think so, mister." Mary slapped him on the arm.

This whole exchange was not missed by the other women. They smiled knowingly at each other. Everyone turned their conversations on Marguerite as she talked about a new opera that had emerged in Paris. Henrietta was shaking with excitement that she just could not hold in any longer.

"Miles and I are having a baby!" screamed Hen.

"We were planning to tell you in a civilized manner but Hen could not keep it to herself anymore" said Miles.

Everyone congratulated the expecting couple. Richard went up to Miles and hugged him. Everyone stopped and looked at them.

"I am sorry. I was a fool. I just was shocked that you were in love with Hen, and to find out the way I did was very hard to swallow."

"I am sorry too. I should have come to you the second I realized it. I missed having your friendship."

"I have missed you too. We have a lot to catch up on. Ladies, I hope you do not mind but then men and I have to have a meeting with each other."

All the men, Vaughn included, walked over to the house and entered in the side door. The women were all alone out in the garden. Hen and Amy were still in shock with how easy the guys forgave each other.

"Hen you should have had a baby a while ago. Then they would have not lost so much time," laughed Amy. The women all had a good laugh about it and then things got serious. They knew that it was time to welcome a new member to their team. They all turned to Mary and smiled. Mary was nervous; she did not know why they were all looking at her.

Then Letty said the words she had never thought she would hear, "Welcome to the League of the Cerise Amaryllis."


	5. Chapter 5

"The Cerise Amaryllis? Do you mean that you are that infamous flower?" Mary excitedly asked Marguerite.

"Not exactly. We are all the Cerise Amaryllis. I just created it," replied Marguerite. She looked at Mary's excited face and smiled. She remembered how exciting it was to find out information that everyone in the country would die to have their hands on.

"How are you all the same flower?" asked Mary.

"Well Marguerite started the flower but when we all wanted to continue helping France and the monarchy, Marguerite decided that the Cerise Amaryllis was the perfect alias for all of us." Amy told Mary.

"Our husbands are not fond of the idea that we continue to work with the War Office but it is a part of who we are. Miles and Geoff decided that they did not need to have their wives in danger so they want to retire or so they say." Hen said to Mary.

"The other day I found Miles and Geoff talking about how they were going to restore the monarchy in their spare time, as long as Hen and I did not find out about it. I do not want Geoff in danger so we are going to help in our own way by working as the Cerise Amaryllis," said Letty.

"So the four of you are the flower that has foiled many of the Scarlet Pimpernel's plans?" asked Mary in puzzlement.

"Well back when Percy was still going to France to save the aristocrats it was just me. I only invited Amy, Hen and Letty to the group recently. We all wanted a way to help Jane over in France so we have been doing research here on what to do," replied Marguerite.

"When the three of us had started the research none of the others knew that we were setting out on the same task and Marguerite was doing it too. In the end we just put all of our information together and work as one being." Hen told Mary.

"It is much harder for the Cerise Amaryllis to get caught because we are not one person. Each person does something that added together completes the goal but at the same time no one can track who it is because there are so many of us." Amy excited told Mary.

Mary was surprised to learn that one of England's most famous spies was in fact four wives of the four men who are famous for trying to help France. Even Letty was a part of it. Mary would have never seen this coming in a million years.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Mary. "I am only a helper of this whole mission. I get my orders from the Pink Carnation."

"We know that. The Pink Carnation works very closely with the Cerise Amaryllis. We are all very good friends. We want the Pink Carnation to succeed but sometimes the French get to close to figuring out who that is and we swoop in the take them off the trail. We were in on the decision to hire you to do this next step." Letty told Mary everything that had happened while she was in Ireland, while Amy and Henrietta told their stories of encounters with espionage. Mary could not believe her ears. She did not know any of this. She had known that Miles and Geoff were part of the War Office, and of course Richard was the Purple Gentian but the women were all in cahoots with the operation. Everything clicked then. She always wondered why Geoff and Letty rushed off to London or why Jane had come to her personally when she was in Paris to ask if she wanted to join her. The women talked about the upcoming plans and the babies that Letty and Hen were expecting. It was a nice afternoon outing and the women were content talking about all of their loves, from espionage to the men that drove them insane. The men were having a similar conversation.

"Sink me, you mean that there is still no idea who this demmed Cerise Amaryllis is?" asked Sir Percy.

"Not a clue. I tried tracking him one day but lost the tracks." Miles told the group.

"What makes you so sure that it is a man?" asked Richard.

"I was thinking the same thing. The Pink Carnation is not a man, so what if the Cerise Amaryllis is not either," said Geoff.

"You are forgetting boys that the Cerise Amaryllis came about when I was leading the operations. The flowers then were all men. It is most likely that this particular flower is of the male gender as well." Percy said to the men.

"I just have a feeling that the answer to the identity is right in front of our faces." Richard looked at each man and then looked into the garden where the women were talking. Amy was laughing at something Hen had just said. He loved when she laughed. It made him wish this damn event was over so he could take her home and ravish her.

The men joined the women on the lawn and they had a nice visit. George and Violet were playing with baby Miles and George was trying to teach him to throw a ball while Violet was trying to get Miles to play dolls with her. The adults laughed as the kids continued playing.

At the end of the night, Percy and Marguerite waved their guests good bye before retiring for the night. Percy noticed that Marguerite was very quiet.

"What is wrong, my darling wife?"

Marguerite looked at him. "Everyone is having babies. It just makes me miss being pregnant," she sighed.

"Do you want to have another baby?" Percy asked suggestively.

"What are you thinking, my love?"

"Just about how fun it was to make those babies."

"Oh you bad man." Marguerite went into his arms and put her hands around his neck. He looked at her and winked. Marguerite giggled at him.

Percy picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and kissed her passionately. His mouth nipping at her bottom lip. He pulled away enough to slip her dress off, while he did it he place kisses on each part of her skin that was exposed. He felt her breasts through her camisole and Marguerite let out a moan. His touches were bringing shivers to her whole body. She reached up and pulled at his cravat.

"Do you know how long it took me to tie that?" whispered Percy into her hair.

"I do not care if it took you years. You are wearing to much clothing."

Percy stripped off the rest of both his and her clothing. He assaulted her body with kisses and licks before putting her hard nipple into his mouth. He gently sucked on it and Marguerite moaned his name. He ran his hand down her body and rested it on her thigh. She raised her body for him. He moved his hand to her and felt how ready she was. She exploded shaking from Percy's touches. He looked her in the eyes and saw the passion and love that was all for him.

"Sink me, you are so stunning."

When her shakes subsided, she started kissing every part of his body. Feeling him against her thigh she guided him into her. He started the pace very slow but as her moans got louder he increased the speed. Their eyes locked. "I love you", they both said at the same time before reaching their climax at the same time. They lay in bed just touching each other before falling into a peaceful slumber.

In another household there was no passion just a very agitated man who was thinking of a tantalizing woman that he has to pretend he was married to. Vaughn was going to find it very hard to keep his hands off of the beautiful Mary Alsworthy. He smiled to himself.

"This is going to be one interesting mission."


	6. Chapter 6

Mary was ready to leave. She had packed up everything that she could think of but still felt like she was missing something. Vaughn was coming in an hour to pick her up and they would leave at noon for Austria. Hopefully the tide was good so they would have no delay but if it was Letty said that Mr. Jellyband would be happy to keep them at The Fisherman's Rest for the night even if they can not leave today. What if they had to go spend the night together? Mary got really nervous; she may have flirted shamelessly but she was scared to death to spend the night with a man. Lord Vaughn made that idea worse; he was the ideal of a perfect body even if he had grey in his hair. She had been watching him when he was not looking. She reasoned with herself that the only reason she was watching him was to know him enough to fake the marriage. She knew deep down that she was attracted to him and her palms started sweating.

Mary started pacing the room. "Why does it have to be so warm in here?" Mary groaned. She was sweating so badly and her stomach was turning.

"We really like this carpet Mary, and we would like to keep it for a few more years." Letty laughed when she entered the room. She noticed that her sister was wearing a hole in the carpet.

Mary turned and glowered at her sister. "I can not help it. I am so nervous. Why did I agree to this?" She was speaking a million words a minute.

"Do you want to go to Austria?" asked Letty seriously.

"Of course! I want nothing more than to help but I am so nervous to be going with Vaughn." Mary turned and started pacing again. Her blue muslin dress was swaying with her every move.

"Then there is nothing to worry about. Lord Vaughn is a wonderful man, he was always so nice to me. You will be fine and believe me if Lord Vaughn was not safe none of us would be sending you on this mission"

"I know that. I am just scared."

"Is it because you are attracted to him?" Letty smiled knowingly.

"No-well…that is beside the point." Mary stopped her pacing. She threw her hands up in the air. "I can not help it. Have you seen him?"

Letty laughed. She was so happy to see her sister genuinely in love. "Then go and have some fun also. Have you ever heard of a scene on a river between a young lady and the Purple Gentian?" Mary shook her head no. Letty sat down and told her the whole story about Amy and Richard with their boat rendezvous.

While the girls finished up the thrilling tale of young lovers caught up in the world of spies. Geoff was sitting in his study finishing a new poem that he was hoping to present to Letty on the day she gave birth. He was having some trouble finding a word to rhyme with enchantment. There was a knock on the door and then in walked Lord Vaughn.

"Good to see you, Geoff" said Lord Vaughn strolling into the room "Is Mary ready to leave yet?"

"No but I will have my men start loading her baggage. Did you see all that stuff? Good luck man!" said Geoff with a chuckle.

"Was that all her stuff?" Vaughn asked dumbfounded. When Geoff nodded he continued. "With all of that stuff there will be no room for us on the boat."

The men laughed at the joke and that was when the ladies walked into the room. They stared at the men wondering what was so funny. Geoff turned and smiled at the ladies.

"All ready to go?" Geoff asked Mary. She simply nodded and looked at Vaughn. He was wearing his signature black with the silver embroidery. His hair looked perfect and she found herself longing to run her fingers through that hair with the gray kissing it.

Vaughn has caught Mary's eyes and saw a flicker of something he did not understand. Could it be passion? Lust? The look vanished as soon as it appeared a d Vaughn wondered if he would ever understand what it was. He tore his eyes away from hers to inspect the rest of her. Her dress hug at all her curves and Vaughn found himself damning the dressmaker and wondered who let their women out of the house in something so tantalizing as that.

Letty had noticed all of this from her position by Mary's side and smiled at the thought of Mary and Vaughn being in love. She remembered those times when she and Geoff used to share secret looks. She missed those looks. She turned to Mary.

"I will miss you. Be careful," Letty told Mary. She hugged her sister close and help on, not wanting to let her go. Letty forgot that she was the little sister and Mary the older one. It seemed like it was the other way for years. Letty started to cry.

"Oh, Letty. I will be back before you know it and everything will be fine. You had your adventure and now it is time for mine." Mary hugged her sister closer and kissed her hair. When they parted both were crying at the idea of not seeing each other for a while. "I love you," they both whispered at the same time.

Vaughn came up behind Mary and touched her shoulder. "Are you ready to leave now?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she answered. She wiped her tears from her cheeks. Vaughn took her arm and led her to the carriage. They got into the carriage and waved goodbye to Letty and Geoff. Letty watched her sister and Lord Vaughn drive away towards Dover. She wished that she was going with her. She turned to Geoff and sighed. She knew that she was over emotional because of the pregnancy but she was really upset about her sister leaving to go to Austria.

"What is wrong, sweetheart?" Geoff pulled Letty into his arms. She buried her head into his chest. He kissed the top of her head.

"Geoff, can you do me a favor?" Letty asked her husband with puppy dog eyes.

"Anything my love, just name it." Geoff said to Letty.

"Will you take me upstairs and make love to me?"

"Of course, woman. I would have to be a total fool not to comply with that favor." Geoff picked Letty up and carried her into the house. He put her one the bed. She pulled him down on the bed with her and pushed her lips to his. The world was spinning for Letty. She used her tongue to explore all of Geoff's mouth. She only stopped to let him undress her. He ran his hands down her body. Geoff felt letty froze.

"What is wrong, Letty?" Geoff asked with panic in his voice.

"The baby is coming," she sobbed.

"What? Are you sure?" Geoff jumped off the bed.

"Of course, I am sure. Are you the pregnant one? NO!" Letty screamed. She got off of the bed and wrapped her robe around her.

"But the baby….i-i-it's not supposed to come for another couple weeks! Just hold it in!"

"JUST HOLD IT IN? GEOFFERY PINCHINGDALE-SNIPE! THIS BABY IS COMING TODAY!"

At that moment Letty's water broke.

On a boat headed to Calais, Mary and Vaughn were talking about their mission and who they had to meet upon hitting France. Mary was very excited to be meeting the infamous Pink Carnation that she was giddy with nerves. They had no clue that while they were talking about a mission that could cost them their life, Letty had just given birth to the most beautiful set of twin girls, Henrietta Scarlet and Helen Rowanne.


	7. Chapter 7

The ride to Dover was silent. Mary did not know what to say to the man that she was supposed to be married to. He looked so peaceful, sitting in the carriage steering the horses where to go. He had not said a word to her since they left Letty's and Mary was afraid that he may not talk to her at all till they were in Austria. She could not even think about what would happen if she had to be silent all the way to Austria. She loved talking to people, the conversation was never dull. Well unless you were Turnip but that was a whole other matter. Mary turned her attention back on the road ahead of her. She found nature to be beautiful and the day today did much to improve it. It was a nice day in May and the flowers along the roadside were in full bloom. Mary sighed at the picture of beauty she was riding through.

Vaughn had heard Mary sigh next to him. The sound sent shivers through his body. He turned his head and glanced at the woman beside him. She was a vision. Her blue muslin dress brought a nice contrast to the dark hair of hers. In the light Vaughn could make out the red streaks that had hid themselves in Mary's long black hair. He remembered the first time she had danced with him. He had his eye on Henrietta Selwick then but Mary had drawn him to her. She flirted with him, trying to make him want her. He knew her history, how she wanted nothing more than to marry a man with a fortune. Her last conquest was none other than her sister's husband Geoffery. She wanted him because he was a viscount.

When she had learned that he was an earl she came to his side immediately teasing and asking to dance with him. He complied the first time because she was so anxious but for some reason he kept coming back to her. She was certainty beautiful but he wanted more in his woman then beauty. She had talked to him about books and music but he had seen more to her than that. He knew inside was a girl who would help others and loved adventure; maybe that was why he had told Jane that she would be the perfect woman for the job. He knew what he had to do and when Jane asked if there was someone he would want to have at his side, Mary's name came out of his mouth. He was just as surprised as Jane was to hear that name come out of his mouth but after some consideration he decided that it would be a perfect match. He could not imagine any one else at his side, being his adoring wife and he knew everyone would believe it as well.

The ride to Dover was shorter than both of them had imagined. Before they knew it they were setting foot onto Sir Percy's yacht, The Daydream. The Captain was a familiar fellow to Vaughn, and he left Mary to talk to him about the trip. After a couple minutes he returned to her side.

"The trip should be smooth, my love. The weather is in our favors." Vaughn said to Mary

"My love?" Mary asked shocked.

"Yes. I figured that we should start getting used to pet names. After all we are in the honeymoon stage of the marriage."

"I know. I am just surprised. It feels funny to think of myself as married."

"Well it has been your goal for your entire life, my dear. This should come naturally for you." Vaughn replied lazily.

"You think that I am just some pathetic fortune hunter, don't you?" Mary asked outraged.

"Do you deny it?" Vaughn raised an eyebrow.

"I can not believe this. If that is what you think of me then why didn't you stop this mission before it even started?" Mary asked, her eyes turned a dark blue like a storm on the ocean.

"I never said that I did not want you here nor did I say that I did not like you because of that fact. I am just saying that you do hunt for men that will bring you the most material goods in life."

"So what if I do? I was born into a middle class family and I want the chance to have all the things that they never had. I want the chance to have expensive jewelry and go on long trips wherever I chose. I want-." Vaughn cut her off.

"Speaking of jewelry, I almost forgot." Vaughn pulled something shiny out of his pocket. "If we want this to go over well we should make it look good. I bought this for you the other day. I think it will look beautiful." He showed her what was in her hand. It was a silver ring. In the middle were five sapphires. It was huge and must have cost a small fortune. Mary put it on her finger and it fit more perfectly than anything she had ever owned.

"I'm speechless." Mary cooed towards the ring.

"I thought you might be. I figured that five stones would remind you of the women who came before you."

"You mean each stone represents Marguerite, Amy, Henrietta, Letty and…" Mary trailed off into thought about who the last stone was for.

"You. The League of the Cerise Amaryllis." Vaughn whispered.

"How did you know about that?" Mary asked shocked.

"I know more than you would ever know."

"You have not told anybody have you?" Mary started to get worried. She was afraid that Lord Vaughn would tell somebody about the League and then she would be hated for letting the secret out.

"No, and I do not intend to so you can stop worrying." With that being said there was silence. Each looked out over the shores of England and said their goodbyes to a home they had loved. One day when this mission was over they would return but neither of them knew when that time would be. Mary went below deck to take a nap for a while. She thought it would help her nerves that were making her sick.

When she woke up it was dark outside. Vaughn was in a chair reading a newspaper. He looked so content sitting there reading the paper. Mary glanced down at the ring on her finger. She wondered if this was what it was like being married, her husband quietly reading his paper and her waking to find that she was protected. She got up and moved next to him.

"How did you sleep?" He asked when she was beside him.

"Fine. I did not know I was out that long."

"Well the weather turned for the worst but we should be in Calais within the hour."

"Oh," was all Mary said.

"What are you thinking?" Vaughn asked her.

"We are married, or so everyone thinks," Mary said thoughtfully.

"Yes. Are you thinking of all the things we get to do?" Vaughn asked her with a smile.

No, I was just wondering who we are?"

"Why, that is a strange question. We are Lord and Lady Vaughn. Newlyweds, who are vacationing in Austria." Vaughn replied swishing his quizzing glass in a circle.

"I know that. My real question is how did we meet and how did we fall in love?"

"Oh. I can understand that. You want a history. Well it can not be to farfetched. Where would you like to start with it?"

"How about with your first name, Lord Vaughn, what is it?"

"Sebastian." As soon as the name escaped his lips Mary started giggling.

"Is something funny, Miss Alsworthy?" asked Vaughn with a bemused look on his face.

"Sebastian? Well that is very different." She tried to say with a straight face but ended up snickering.

"I am glad you are getting some enjoyment out of this. You can see why I never give my first name out if I can help it."

"I am sorry. You jus do not seem like a Sebastian."

"What do I seem like?" Vaughn asked interested.

"Well….I haven't the foggiest idea, actually."

Vaughn let out a laugh that he had been holding in for a while. This stunning creature next to him was very amusing, he smiled to himself. This mission was going to be fun as well as productive, he though.

"How old are you, Mary?" he asked her.

"Twenty-four."

"Wow, you are too young to be doing this."

"I am not. The only woman who was older than me was Marguerite out of us and that was only by a year."

"Alright, so you are old enough to be here but why are you?"

"I wanted to help. I never really wanted anything more than to be married; now I want to help France."

"But why?"

"Jane asked me to. As much as I want a title and fortune, I still want to help. When Jane asked me to be a part of something bigger than me, I was excited for something. I had not felt that way in a long time. I heard Letty's story from Ireland and something touched my heart. It sounded thrilling and important to so many people. I want to be a part of that no matter what."

That was all the information that he needed. Vaughn grabbed Mary around the waist and pulled her down upon his lap. He wrapped his hands around her neck and pulled her face to his. "If you want me to stop, now is the chance" he breathed. His lips were a mere moment away from her, she breathed in and before she had the chance to think his lips were upon hers. His lips were soft and she threw her hands into his hair to pull him closer. They were combined in a passionate kiss that would have killed Napoleon himself. Neither of them wanted it to end but they were soon interrupted.


	8. Chapter 8

Land that was what interrupted them. They had finally hit the coast of France. Mary had heard that Calais was beautiful from Marguerite and Amy but she had never experienced it first hand. She found it breathtaking. Vaughn looked over at her and smiled. She looked like a child on Christmas. He was happy that he got to be with her when she saw France for the first time and he secretly made plans to take her to many more countries if he could see her like this.

"It is so gorgeous. I never thought anything would take my breath away like this." Mary said looking at Vaughn.

"My dear, this is just the dock. Wait to you see the rest of Paris. It is a pity that we are not staying long but you will see some of it." He responded.

"Is Jane sending her carriage?" Mary asked.

"No, I had one of my own sent to us. I do own property here in France and we will stay at my house tonight. We will see Jane and Miss Gwen tomorrow."

"I am so nervous to meet her. What if she doesn't like me?" Vaughn chuckled at this statement.

"My darling, everyone loves you and if they don't they have too much class to say so."

Vaughn and Mary waited on the dock till the bags were loaded and then got into the carriage. Mary had brought a book to read during the travel because she had heard it would be a long time. She could not concentrate on the book though and kept stealing looks at Vaughn. Unlike her, he had managed to read his book, Robinson Crusoe. Mary had never guessed that Vaughn would be the type of man that liked to read. She tried to get into her book again.

Mary finally gave up with a loud sigh. "Is something wrong?" Vaughn asked her.

"Sorry. I just could not concentrate on my book."

"It's okay. I will willingly give you mine. The book is putting me to sleep." Vaughn handed the book to Mary.

"No thank you. I have heard about that book. Pamela is no better!" cried Mary.

"Do you like to read?"

"Yes. I have always wanted to have a big library when I have my own house. It is one of my passions"

"One of them? What are the others?"

"I can not tell you. You would think it was silly."

"We are married. You can tell me anything." Vaughn said with a smile.

"We are only pretend married." Mary said matter-of-factly.

"Either way I should still know about you. What if someone asks me about your favorite activity or whether you prefer Opera to Dances?"

"Then you can tell them that your _wife _enjoys reading and dancing but she loves Operas." Mary smiled back.

They talked the rest of the way to Paris. Smiling and flirting with each other. Any onlooker would think that they were married. Vaughn found the banter amusing and was wondering why his own wife was never like Mary. His wife. That was someone he had not thought about in a long time. He remembered that she had gone missing and that she was supposedly dead but then he started getting letters that proved the opposite of that idea. Where was she?

"Is something wrong?" Mary asked Vaughn.

"Uh-um-No. Sorry I was lost in thought. What were you saying?" He asked Mary a bit confused.

"I was asking if your property in Paris was next to the Blakeney house."

"Oh, yes of course it is. He bought the property around the same time that I did. That is how I ended up on the good side of this battle."

"So this is a battle now?" Mary asked curiously.

"In a way, my love."

"Your LOVE?" Mary asked shocked.

"Do you not like pet names, my dear?" Vaughn asked amused.

"I think they are fine if used properly." Mary said.

"Well you are my wife. Well, as far as anyone else is concerned. I think I have the sole right to call you pet names, bunny."

"Humph" was all Mary could say, while Vaughn laughed.

They were silent for the rest of the journey. When the horse started pulling up to Vaughn's house Mary let out a squeal. She was shocked by the grander of the house. It was a huge stone house with three stories with Ivy growing up it. The drive was long and overlooked a huge pond that had swans swimming in it. Mary fell in love within the second. _To bad we are not staying here_, thought Mary.

Vaughn watched her face. She showed the excitement not only with her eyes but with every part of her body. She threw herself at the window to peer out at the old house that Vaughn had not really cared for. Now that he had seen her excitement the house looked more appealing. He pictured caring her up the steps and into the bedroom. What he wanted to do with that girl was not good. He pulled himself out of that train of thought cursing himself for even thinking about it.

When the carriage came to a stop he got out and helped her out of the carriage. He wanted to take his time walking up the stairs and into the house with her because he wanted to see her face when she noticed each element of the property. She lit up just walking up the stairs. He wanted to buy her every house in the world. They entered the foyer and Vaughn's butler, Andre took their gloves and hats. Mary did a circle around the room.

"Do you like it my dear?" Vaughn asked her genuinely.

"It is amazing. I have never seen such a wonderful house." Mary said in amazement.

"You have yet to see the best part yet." Vaughn said excitedly. He took her arms and made her close her eyes. He walked her down a long hallway and then took a left. I brought her to the middle of the room.

"Open your eyes" he commanded her. When she did she was blown away. There in front of here was a three story library. One of the biggest ones she had ever seen. It was amazing. There must have been thousands if not millions of books lining the walls. There were staircases up and a huge fireplace. There were doors off of it that went to the gardens. Mary could not take it all in.

"This is all yours? There must be thousands of books here." Mary said.

"I like to pick up books on my journeys. It is like a souvenir of where I have been. I love to read and I think that everyone should be well read." Vaughn said with a smile.

"So do I, but this is amazing."

"I was hoping that you would like it." Vaughn said to her.

"Like it? I love it!" Mary said. "Too bad that we are not staying here longer I would love to spend time here."

"Sometime I will let you spend as long as you want in here. We just have to get our mission completed first." Vaughn replied.

Vaughn showed her around the rest of the house; in the kitchens, studies, and bedrooms. Mary fell in love with all of it. He showed her where she would be staying the night and told her that she could nap before dinner. He knew that the journey was very long. She laid down on the bed and stared at the cream colored ceiling. All she could think about was how this was like a fairy tale. The only thing missing was her real husband. Vaughn was amazing and she found herself thinking about what had happened in the boat.

"Was it just because I was there or does he really like me?" Mary said out loud. "Oh do not be stupid, no one likes you like that. How many men have you tried to marry and none of them were the right one. Just because he kissed me does not mean that he likes me. He could have kissed me for a million other reasons. He could have kissed me because….well because…I don't know!"

Mary finally fell into a small slumber only to be awakened by Vaughn touching her cheek. She opened her eyes sleepily and stared at the man above her. He looked incredible that she found herself licking her lips. Before she knew what was happening, Mary and Vaughn were embracing each other, their passions taking over and their instincts running wild. Vaughn could not get enough of her while Mary was thinking the same thing. She pulled him on top of her and let out a small moan when she felt his excitement on her thigh. Her hands went into his hair and she arched into him.

Vaughn got his senses back. "We should not do this. It is not right." He said looking down at her

"But I thought we were _married_." Mary purred pulling him back down.

"You are very bad." Vaughn laughed before kissing her full on the mouth. Mary started undoing the buttons on his waistcoat while Vaughn kissed a trail from her moth to her breasts; hitting every possible sensitive spots.

It was all moving so fast and felt so good that Mary knew something was bound to happen. And something did. There was a knock on the door and Andre said that there were guests downstairs. Vaughn jumped up and immediately went to straighten his clothes. Mary got out of bed and did the same. She was so embarrassed at what they had done but at the same time cursed the company for bothering them.

Vaughn offered her his arm and they walked downstairs to the sitting room. Vaughn saw the guests first and was shocked. He stood there for a second just staring. Mary did not know who they were or why they had such an effect on Vaughn.

"Are you just going to stare or are you going to say something?" said the beautiful woman standing before Vaughn.

"What are you doing here?" Vaughn asked.

"You didn't think that I would want to see you and your _new_ wife?" she replied.


	9. Chapter 9

I was brought back to reality with a knock on the door. I jumped and dropped some of the papers on the floor when Colin walked in. He looked tired and his suit was wrinkled. I felt bad for making him put up with me for another weekend but I could not just stop searching for the answers to my questions. I was so involved in these people's lives now.

"Sorry if I startled you. I wanted to know if you wanted to go get something to eat. You have been in the library all day now." Colin said coming to stand in front of me. I looked up into those beautiful eyes and despite myself I could not say no.

"Sure. I did not realize what time it was. I am famished actually." I got up and started to collect the papers that had fallen on the ground. Colin had reached down and started to help me. We reached for the same paper and our hands touched. It was so cliché that I actually thought it was cute. We just stared at each other for a minute before he handed me the paper and we both stood up.

"I prepared a picnic for us. I thought we could eat out by the ruins." Colin said after I put the pages away.

"That sounds wonderful" I told him. He took my arm and led me into the kitchen. There was a gorgeous picnic basket on the counter that looked like the one Sir Percy brought for Marguerite in the Anthony Andrews' movie. I was shocked that he did all this. He grabbed the basket and headed out the door with it. It took me a minute to follow him I was so amazed.

When we got to the ruins he laid out this beautiful white blanket. It looked as though it was used to going on picnics and I wondered if Colin took all the girls he went out with on such a date. I knew that it was wrong to be thinking of that and that I should be thinking about how wonderful it was that Colin wanted to go out with me but I couldn't.

He brought out sandwiches and wine. He set out fruit and salads. It was a feast for twenty; I wondered when he had the time to cook all of this. I sat down on the blanket and he sat next to me.

"I didn't know what you would like so I cooked a lot of stuff." He said while pouring us wine.

"I am not a picky eater. Anything is fine really." I said taking the wine glass that he offered me.

"So how do you like Mary and Vaughn so far?" Colin asked me.

"They are amazing. I have to confess that in the beginning I was a little nervous to hear their story because I really did not like either of them but they grow on you."

"Yes, they do. Where are they right now?"

"They are at his house in Paris. I just got to the part where someone came to visit them. Who was it?" I asked Colin.

"You will see."

I gave him my best puppy dog eyes. "Can't you just tell me?" I whined.

Colin let out a laugh. "No. I want to hear about you. If I wanted to spend the time talking about Mary and Vaughn I would be reading the documents." He said to me, turning very serious.

"What do you want to know?" I asked him.

"Anything and everything."

"Well I am from the United States." I smiled at him.

"Really? I would have never guessed it." He returned the smile.

"I don't know what to say. I am a graduate student but you know that."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, a younger sister. Jillian is her name." We went into detail talking about our sisters and what it was like growing up with them. We were laughing and before I knew it we were both laying on the blanket staring up at the stars talking about what we wanted out of the future.

"I know that you are a descendant from Amy and Richard but are there relatives of Henrietta and Miles still alive?" I asked him

"Of course there is. Miles Blakeney is actually one of the last of both the Blakney and Dorrington lines. I grew up with him and Geoffrey Pinchingdale-Snipe."

"Wow. That is really amazing that your families are still very close."

"Yeah we always will be too. Serena was always said to be destined for one of the guys but they both fell in love already."

"Are they married?"

"Geoffrey is. His wife, Kayse, is amazing. She is a history teacher in the States, and he moved there after the wedding. They still come to England though in the summer so I get to see them a lot. Miles is engaged to someone but no one knows who this mystery girl is yet. I have tried to get the information out of him but he said he is not telling till they are ready."

"Do you think that you know who she is?" I asked him.

"I thought it was my sister for a while but I think I would know if they were engaged. I actually think that it may be one of Kayse's good friends and that is why he doesn't want to say anything."

"That is still very awesome that you guys are all still friends."

"The League of the Cerise Amaryllis was the link that binds every family together.

"What do you mean?"

"The Cerise Amaryllis is still intact. Kayse, Kayla, Jenna, and Dawn are the women who head it now and one day my wife will be a part of it as well but they keep the legacy alive."

"Are you telling me that they are spies?"

"In a way they are. I can not really explain what they do but if you ever meet them they will explain how they became a part of it. Kayla is who I think is engaged to Miles. All of the girls are friends. They would love to meet you."

"How do they know about me?" I asked him. He blushed. I had never thought that I could make Colin Selwick blush but there he was. It was shocking.

"I may have told them about you." He said quietly. My stomach did a back flip I was so excited to hear him say that. I wanted to lean over and kiss him. That is just what I did.

I leaned forward and our lips met. He pulled me closer and tangled his fingers into my hair. He tasted like the strawberries we had ate earlier and I was intoxicated by him. This kiss did not last long but when we pulled apart we were both breathing heavy.

"I have wanted to do that for a while" he said to me. All I could do was smile.


	10. Chapter 10

"I would think that you already knew my wife" Vaughn replied nonchalantly.

"In a way I do. I wanted to meet her in person." The beautiful woman looked over at Mary.

"My dear, I would like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. Mary this is Jane Wooliston. Jane, this is my new wife Mary." Mary's jaw dropped. She knew she was going to be meeting Jane while in France but she had no clue that it would be this soon. She also did not know how beautiful she was going to be. Mary started to wonder how good of friends Vaughn was with her.

While all this was going on in Mary's head. Jane was looking Mary up and down. She knew that when she and Miss. Gwen had arrived they were interrupting something and by the look on both Vaughn's and Mary's faces, there were not happy to be interrupted. She did not expect them to get along this well. She decided that they did look good together and if they fell in love on the way who was she to stop them. Anyways it could only help by making them seem like the perfect married couple.

"Miss Wooliston. It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard nothing but good things." Mary finally said.

"Call me Jane. It is good to finally meet you. This is Miss. Gwen." Jane introduced the older lady with the parasol. She came forward.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mary. Now Vaughn, what is this bad manners you have here. I would like a drink and you would think being a man of class I would not have had to ask for it, you should have had it here upon our entrance to the house." Miss Gwen started poking Vaughn in the chest with her parasol.

"I am so sorry. I was not thinking. I will go get the drinks myself." Vaughn turned to leave. Mary heard him mutter upon leaving the room: "The next time that old woman comes here I am making sure the parasol does not enter with her!" Mary tried her best to muffle her giggle.

"Come, sit. We have a lot to discuss." Jane said leading Mary to a couch. The two women sat next to each other while Miss Gwen sat on the chair next to them.

"So how do you like France?" Jane asked Mary.

"It is gorgeous. I have been in love with it since the second we docked maybe even before that. But let us not talk of these things. I want to know more about what Vaughn and I have to do. All I know is that we are going to Austria."

"Yes, you are going there. I need you to get close to the Duke there. He is the rightful heir to the thrown of France now. I need you and Vaughn on the inside so that we can make sure that Napoleon goes no where near him. He will want to have him killed if he suspects him of trying to claim France and we can not have that. The monarchy has to win!"

"Wow. Are you sure you trust me doing this? I mean I am happy to help but I do not know the first thing about getting close to people of the royal court." Mary said nervously.

"Of course I trust you with this. From what I understand you can charm any man. I mean look at poor Geoff, he was so taken by you he thought he could actually write poetry. I think you can certainly pull this off. And also you forget that you have Vaughn with you."

"Vaughn. Right. I just don't know if I can convince them that I am married to him. Sometimes it seems like I could do it but a barely know him."

"I understand where you are coming from but believe me when I saw the two of you tonight I would say that you could fool even yourselves. You looked like the happily married couple that you are supposed to be. I was proud at how well you guys looked the part. I have faith that you can do this Mary. All you have to do is charm everyone at the palace and remember to look totally in love with your husband."

"Okay. I think I can do this. As long as I do not freak out." Mary said

"Believe me sweetie, if your sister could pull off this spy stuff you can" said Miss Gwen. "She asked Geoffrey to translate an Opera for her once."

"Well what was wrong with that?" asked Mary.

"The Opera was in English" replied Miss Gwen. Jane and Mary both started laughing.

"Ah, that would be my Letty. She is a darling though and so in love with her husband. I can not wait till she has the baby." Mary sighed.

"Oh! But she did have the babies. Twin Girls to be precise." Jane said.

"Oh my. When?"

"The day you left. I just got word from her today about it" Jane pulled the letter out of her purse and handed it to Mary. "Here you can read what she wrote about it."

Mary grabbed the letter and read with a fevered passion. As she was reading Vaughn came back into the room with the drinks and set them on the table.

"About time Lad, I was getting very parched" Miss Gwen said to Vaughn.

"I am terribly sorry. Mary and I had no clue that you would be arriving here tonight. Would you be staying here for the night?" Vaughn said.

"Yes we would, if that is okay with you Lord Vaughn?" Jane replied.

"That is perfectly fine. Let me go tell my butler to have your rooms made up." Vaughn disappeared yet again. Mary finished the letter and started to cry.

"What is wrong, my dear?" asked Miss Gwen.

"Nothing. I am just really happy for Letty. She has everything she ever wanted. I just wish that one day I am as happy as she is."

"You will be. I think you should rest. You will feel better in the morning" Jane said to her.

Vaughn came back and showed Miss Gwen and Jane to their rooms for the night. When he came back Mary was curled up on the couch half asleep. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs to her room.

"Vaughn, do we get to sleep together?" Mary asked drowsily.

"Is that what you want?" Vaughn asked her.

"I think so. I mean I think if we have to pretend to be married then we should sleep in the same bed. Unless you don't agree…"

"NO-uh I mean I agree with you. I just was not sure if you would be comfortable with that."

"I was comfortable with what we did earlier" Mary purred.

"Uh yes. I guess so. Well then Lady Vaughn, I will carry you to your new room." Vaughn picked Mary up and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. There he placed her on the bed.

"Silly, I can't go to bed in my clothes." Mary whispered. She stood up and slowly stripped down to her underwear. Vaughn was speechless. He could not believe that she was doing this.

Mary crawled back in bed. "Are you coming?" she asked him when she was all comfortable.

"I have a feeling that you are out to kill me woman" Vaughn said before getting into bed with her.


	11. Chapter 11

The ride to Austria was long and tiring. Mary had managed to read three novels in the carriage but it still did not help with the nerves. Jane seemed to think that she would be fine on this mission but Mary thought otherwise. She was still really happy that she was a part of something that was bigger than she was.

She looked over at Vaughn and smiled. So much had passed between them and yet neither of them would really talk about it. They would do anything not to talk about their feelings. Mary for one thought it was just lust that she must be feeling for Lord Vaughn. She had never been in love before and she did not want to start now. It seemed like a change from what she was feeling for Vaughn before but the truth of the matter was that she needed some time to figure out what she felt for him before she was forced to tell the world her true feelings. It did not help the situation that she had to spend the next couple weeks pretending to be madly in love with him.

Mary turned and stared out the window. She decided to just enjoy the scenery and forget everything for a while. It would be nice to just daydream for a couple minutes.

Vaughn noticed the confusion that had passed through Mary's eyes and wondered what it was that she was thinking about. They had not said a word to each other since they had departed from Paris. Vaughn just that that Mary would sleep the entire way to Austria and was surprised that she had not even dozed off.

To pass the time Vaughn had been reading the papers in both France and Austria so he was caught up on all the news. He thought when they hit their destination he would make Mary write to Letty just to see if there was any news on the home front. In the meantime he did not mind the view that this trip was allowing him. Mary looked beautiful staring out the window, he wished he could just take her right there but at the same time he just wanted to look at her.

Vaughn was having feelings that he did not understand. He had been married before but he was never really in love with Lady Vaughn. She was a mistake, one made in the youth before a man wises up and learns the difference between love and lust. He knew how to differentiate between them now and he was sure that what he was feeling for Mary was more than lust. But love? No, he thought, I could not be in love with her.

"Sebastian?" Mary whispered still staring out the window.

"Yes." Vaughn said, startled out of his own thoughts.

"I still can not get used to your name. Though I think it suits you. Lord Vaughn just makes you seem so powerful and intimidating."

"Really? No one has ever said that to me before. I am sure that no one has ever called me Sebastian besides my parents."

"What about you wife?" Mary asked cautiously, she knew that Vaughn rarely liked speaking of Lady Vaughn.

"It was always Lord Vaughn from her. Now that I think about it, I am not even sure if she knew my first name. Imagine married to a woman for so long and she does not even know your name." Vaughn shook his head and laughed.

"That must be a terrible thing. I can not imagine. Every man that I have ever wanted to be with always knew my name and I his. What was her first name?

"That I remember like it was yesterday. It was Chloe." Vaughn paused after saying her name.

"Does it hurt to remember her?" Mary asked him. She desperately wanted to know everything about the women who Vaughn married. Was she perfect in everyway? Was she rich? Why did Vaughn marry her?

"No, it used to. There was a time when I thought that she was dead that it hurt me so much but then when I found out that she is still alive the only feeling I had left was hatred. I hated her for making me care all these years."

"How did you meet her? If you don't want to talk about it I understand." Mary added hurriedly, the last thing she wanted to do was upset him.

"I was a young man at the time I met her. She was beautiful. I think I fell in love with her the second I saw her, of course now I know that it was not love. I had gone to the Opera in Paris one night and who is on stage but this beauty. Sir Percy was there with Marguerite so of course the young starlet was well known by the Blakeney family. Marguerite had made it her business to learn every actress's name since she last performed on the statge. Sir Percy and I were acquaintances and I made him introduce me to her that night. She was a vision. She had this long raven black hair that reminded me of midnight. She always had these beautiful green eyes. They would change depending on what she was feeling, if they turned grey you knew that she was sick and if they were a deep emerald you knew to stay out of her way." Vaughn looked away in a daze.

"So you both fell for each other form the moment you saw each other?" Mary asked

"Ekk gad's no! She wanted nothing to do with me the first time we met. She would not even turn and talk to me. I kept my distance stealing looks at her where I could. I wanted to know everything there was about her. Marguerite was spending a lot of time with her before she had the first child so I would steal away to the Blakeney estate in hopes that I would run into the diva."

"And did you?" By this point Mary was engrossed in the story Vaughn was telling.

"I did. I ran into her a number of times. I would always apologize and walk away. I guess my leaving all the time started to get to her because she started asking Marguerite about me. Marguerite only said good things and I found Chloe trying to spend more time with me at the theater and also at the Blakeney estate. I was so happy that I did not stop to question her for a second. After two weeks we were married. I know I rushed into it but I thought that if I did not marry her soon than she would leave me. I should have just walked away and forgot about her."

"But you couldn't"

"No I couldn't After the wedding everything seemed perfect. She spent every second with me and I her. We were never apart and then it all changed. She stopped sleeping in the same room and I started coming home later because I did not like her attitude towards me. She treated me like I was this little kid that had to be scolded all the time. To just make her happy I gave her whatever she wanted. Jewelry, clothes, furniture; she redid the entire house one day. I didn't say anything to her, just let her do it and walked away. I started to hate her and wish for her to die. I didn't think anything of it until…" Vaughn faded off.

"You got the letter saying that she had died." Mary whispered.

"Yes. I felt terrible when I got that letter. I knew at the time that it was not my fault that she was dead and the whole reason she was there was because she was leaving me anyways. I knew she would eventually. She married me for the money and nothing more. I had given her everything that I could and now it was time for her to move on but I never thought that she would die. I thought that she may be alive if only I had not have wished her to be dead.

"It was not your fault" said Mary grabbing his hands.

"I know that now. I couple months ago I got a letter from Chloe. Miles discovered it the same time and we both found out that my wife was very much alive. That will be the hard part of this mission. You look a little like Chloe and well in Austria they will assume that you are the famous French Opera singer that stole my heart all those years ago. You have to let them believe that."

"WHAT?!?" Mary jumped up. "I can not pretend to be your wife. I mean I was going to be your wife but I thought that was when I got to be myself. Now I have to be this other hussy that I don't even think is on the right side of good and evil."

"Believe me I know how hard it is for you. It is hard for me too. That is why I have tried everything I can think of to make this not work but it has to be like this. People in Austria do not know that my wife is dead and they have never met her so they don't know what she looks like. Please, please tell me you can do this."

"Of course I can do this. I am just not happy about it." Mary folded her arms, she meant to pull a full pout out of this new information but before she got to the carriage stopped in front of a beautiful palace. It reminded Mary of Versailles. Vaughn opened the carriage door and got out. He gave instructions to the driver and then helped Mary out of the carriage.

He led her into the palace and into a giant room of a pale blue and gold. The room was huge and there were people everywhere. Mary guessed that they were the high class Austrians. She knew they were there to mingle and meet the duke but before she could a women walked up to Vaughn and said "How unfortunate that you would bring your mistress here."

"Where have you been?" Vaughn asked through gritted teeth.

"Darling I have been everywhere you have. I am just a better spy then you will ever me."


End file.
